The key facts

  • According to the Palestine Shelter Cluster assessment, 58% of Gaza's residents (1.2 million people, including more than 560,000 children) are living in 'critical or catastrophic' shelter conditions.
  • The storm on Friday flooded more than 70,000 tents; the collapse of a sand embankment in Deir al-Balah killed two women and three children.
  • Save the Children claims that Israeli restrictions are blocking the entry of caravans, tents, fuel and repair materials.

Storm exposes shelter crisis

The British humanitarian organization Save the Children has warnedthat more than half a million children in the Gaza Strip remain without safe shelter as the territory endures its first winter storm. According to the Gaza government office, the storm on Friday evening flooded more than 70,000 tents and destroyed dozens of walls already damaged by the war. Overnight into Sunday, according to Gaza civil defense, two women and three children were killed when a sand embankment collapsed onto tents sheltering displaced residents in Deir al-Balah.

Assessment data on conditions

Citing a recent assessment by the Palestine Shelter Cluster, the organization said on Sunday that about 58% of Gaza's residents — 1.2 million people, including more than 560,000 children — are living in 'critical or catastrophic' shelter conditions. Children in Gaza are facing their fourth winter in tents and makeshift shelters, and many burn trash to keep warm. Nearly half of the surveyed families said they burn plastic, tires, garbage or cardboard to cook food, while 84% have no effective way to heat their shelters. The organization warned that the toxic combustion products of these materials can cause respiratory illnesses and carbon monoxide poisoning, as well as fires and burns.

Causes and responsibility

Save the Children states that restrictions imposed by the Israeli authorities are blocking the entry of items needed for winter: tents, tarpaulins, insulation, blankets, fuel, gas, heaters and construction materials for repairing shelters. According to the organization, the 'so-called ceasefire' announced more than a year ago provided for the entry of mobile home caravans as a more durable alternative to tents, but Israel repeatedly obstructed their entry. Save the Children International Regional Director Ahmad Alhendawi said that tents, shelter kits and fuel are waiting at Gaza's borders while children sleep in floodwater: 'This is a choice, and children are paying the price.' He also noted that, according to available data, 11 children died of hypothermia in the Strip last year.